Bilge Pump / Hydraulic steering help

[cygnus-x1]

Last evening we were off deal island drifting across the ledge there. We drifted into a mess of crab pots so I started her up and cranked the wheel to spin us around. Well I cranked and then felt a pop :eek: There went our steering. So we had to be towed in (thank god for Boat US). Anyway we checked to make sure we were not taking on water (for whatever reason) and noticed enough to pump out. We turned our pump on and no sound. The bilge had a lot of hydraulic fluid in it. The pump worked fine at the dock before we left.

Bilge Pump
1) Would this fluid gum up a bilge pump ?
2) Is the bilge pump cleanable/fixible or is it time for a new one?

Steering

We have dual inboard motors. Typically where would the hydraulic steering cables connect to on the bottom of the boat? Would it go out where drive shaft does or could go out further up? I could not see very well and the bilge was a mess.

thanks (again)

Doug

[Hat80]

The hydraulic lines should run to a hydraulic piston that is located on the rudder control arms at the stern in the bilge. There are no exposed lines under the boat.

The fluid could have gummed up the pump and caused it to stop running. With that said, you would still hear the motor trying to run. Sounds electrical to me. Hope this helps.....Hat

[catman]

Ouch, sounds like one heck of a mess. I guess the 1st order of business is to get the bilge clean so you can see what's really going on down there. When you say dual inboard motors are you saying there's only two prop shafts coming out of the hull or do you have two outdrives. If it's out drives you have two hydraulic cylinders that connect the drive. You either blew a seal or actually reptured a hose. Either case you have to pull the boat for repairs unless you just blew a hose at the hydraulic pump. As far as your bilge pump is concerned I would think it would still run. Did you check to see if you have voltage going to it? Good luck. You couldn't have picked a hotter time to do it.

[cygnus-x1]

The hydraulic lines should run to a hydraulic piston that is located on the rudder control arms at the stern in the bilge. There are no exposed lines under the boat.

The fluid could have gummed up the pump and caused it to stop running. With that said, you would still hear the motor trying to run. Sounds electrical to me. Hope this helps.....Hat

My bigle area / engine room are hard for me to get into. The gas tank blocks everything and there is a platform that covers that stern area of the bigle. I could not locate the piston or the cable. I did get some diaper like rags that slurped up the oil out fo the water ... that was pretty slick

I found it odd too that the motor did not whine. I also did not have dashboard lights on the way back in while under tow so I guess something must have happened. I always check my bilge pumps before I leave the dock and they were functioning.

I guess I'll have to get a mechanic to look at it.

thanks

[cygnus-x1]

Ouch, sounds like one heck of a mess. I guess the 1st order of business is to get the bilge clean so you can see what's really going on down there. When you say dual inboard motors are you saying there's only two prop shafts coming out of the hull or do you have two outdrives. If it's out drives you have two hydraulic cylinders that connect the drive. You either blew a seal or actually reptured a hose. Either case you have to pull the boat for repairs unless you just blew a hose at the hydraulic pump. As far as your bilge pump is concerned I would think it would still run. Did you check to see if you have voltage going to it? Good luck. You couldn't have picked a hotter time to do it.

I have two inboards (dual props) so hopefully the piston/cable are internbal to the boat so I won't have to pull it ... I hope. I am guessing that somehow an electrical glitch occurred at the same time as we had the pump working when we left.

I have cleaned out the oil and cleaned the pump. It still turns manually. Maybe I have a blown fuse or something.

I unfortunately have a cabin cruiser and its wired for shore power and battery so the wiring harness is an utter mess. I can handle basic electronics .. I have installed and fixed stuff on small boats before and I ran new electric in my house but this boat is way too complicated without a legible schema ... plus who knows what the previous owner did ...

Well hopefully I can get her running before September comes!

thanks for the advice ..

[catman]

It doesn't sound serious but a mechanic is the way to go. The hydraulic leak probably caused a fuse to blow. Good luck and hope you get her running soon.

[JerryB]

I want to comment on the bilge pump question.

it does sound to me like it is an electrical issue, but if in doubt about your pump then replace it. they are much cheaper than your insurance deductable, a new boat or a funeral.

I don't mean that to be critical of anyone, especially you catman I know you have been around. But to me a bilge pump is SAFETY EQUIPMENT and should be replaced without hesitation if it comes into question, besides that they are fairly cheap( at least the freshwater ones).

Also, a lot of us that run on lake erie (its NOT the ocean, but it can be dangerous as well) carry a spare bilge pump with 6' hose attached and wired up to be clipped onto the battery in an emergency. if there is an issue and the main pump goes down, or can't keep up, you can clip on the spare, put the hose over the side and hopefully get things going the right way.

another thing that i carry is a set of expanding rubber plugs. i have one that fits each one of my through hull fittings plus a couple of slightly larger plugs. Who knows what might happen if you hit something and bust off a fitting or a livewell hose breaks and you are taking on serious water it gives you a chance to plug this up.

Again, I am not criticizing anyone but i am trying to promote safety! Might be a good time to check your fire extinguisher(s) and your flares too, i know that i don't remember to check mine every time out.

I learned these ideas from other guys who fish where i do and i am trying to help anyone who may be reading this.

cheers,
jerry

[catman]

Hey Jerry, I couldn't agree more about the bilge pump. I installed a redundant bilge system on my boat this spring. That gives me 4 pumps on the boat - 2 forward and 2 aft. I darn near lost my boat last summer because of two failed Shure float switches. Now what's the chance of 2 switches going out at the same time? Won't happen again.;)